Road vehicle



Maxfch 18, 1930. D. B. cooK 1,7.5L074if ROAD VEHICLE Filed July 14, 17928 v INVENTOR. n Z Zjzgf DAV/p B. COOK BY g 'f ATTORNEYS f Patented l Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES DAVID B. COOK, OF FRANKFORT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ACME ROAD MACHINERY' L PATENe'r ortica COMPANY, OF FRANKFORT, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION F NEW YORK ROAD VEHICLE Application led July 14,

In the operation of road working machines, such as road graders, rollers, crushing and screening plants and snow plows, it is frequently necessary for the machines to be so driven that one of the rear or traction wheels or crawlers thereof runs along at the side of the road or in the gutter where the soil is likely to be so moist and soft as not to provide a suitable traction surface, while the other traction device remains on a firm surface. When this occurs in the case of machines that are driven by an internal combustion engine through a differential or compensating gearing, the traction device at the side of the road is liable to spin idly, while the other traction device remains stationary on the firmer traction surface.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide means whereby Vdifferential movement of the traction devices may be prevented, so that in case suitable traction surface is not provided for one of the devices the other device may be caused to rotate and thus propel the machine. v

Another object of the present invention is to provide such means which is controllable from the drivers seat and during the opera,- tion of the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a power driven vehicle having means of the character indicated which is of simple, strong and durable construction, and easily and conveniently operated or controlled.

The several features of the invention, whereby these and other objects may be attained, will be clearly understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FigureV 1 is a side view of the rear portion of a power driven road grader embodying the features of my invention in their pre ferred form;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a detail transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale and partly in elevation, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

The road grader illustrated in the draw- 192s. seriai No. 292,796.'

ings is provided with the usual frame or chassis 2, rear driving or traction wheels 4, a powerunit comprising an internal combustion engine 6 and differential driven shafts 8 which are in driving connection with the rear wheels 4, a steering wheel 10, drivers seat 12, grading blade 14 and a scarifier 16.

In accordance with my invention, a countershaft which is made in sections 18 and 20, arranged end to end, is mounted in suitable bearings 22 on the longitudinal side frames of the machine. The opposite endsof'tliis divided countershaft carries gears 24 which are operatively engaged by gears or pinions 26 secured on theends of the differentially driven shafts 8, and also are in driving engagement with gears 28 that are secured on the hubs of the rear driving wheels 4. As shown, means is provided for locking the two sections of the countershaft together. This means comprise-s a clutch sleeve 30 which surrounds the inner ends of the shaft sections, and is secured to the shaft section 20 by means of a pin 32. A clutch collar 34 is keyed on the shaft section 18 and isI adapted to be shifted so as to bring a clutch face thereon into locking engagement with a clutch face on the clutch sleeve 30. The clutch collar 34 is adapted to be thus shifted by means of a hand operable lever 36 pivoted at 38 on the frame and provided with a shifting pin or stud 40 which is received in an annular groove 42 in the clutch collar. the lever 36 is conveniently accessible from the drivers seat 12.

The upper end of` With this construction, it will be appar- 4. When both traction wheels are 0n firm ground or inturning a corner, the operator may shift` the clutch lever 36 to disconnect Y the two sections of the countershaft and thus render the differential or compensating gearing of the power unit loperative in the usual manner to driveY the traction wheels.

p Instead of mounting the clutch members i 30 and 84 on the-countershaft 18-20, it will Vbe apparent that they maybe mounted on the rear axle so as'to directly connect the rearwheels. Also, in place of the rear wheels, other traction devices such as crawlers may be used. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art' that my invention permits various other modifications to be made witl out departing from the spirit thereoiior4 theV scope of the appendedclaim.

What I claim is: Y y Y A power driven vehicle having, in combination, traction devices,

said devicesV ditferentially, comprising gears secured on the ends of said shafts, idler gears operatively engaged by said irst-mentioned Y gears, gears for driving said devices and operyes atively engaged by said idler gears, and means comprising av clutch interposed between said idler gears and operable from the drivers seat for locking said idler gears together to prevent differential movement of said traction devices but permitting them to be driven simultaneously by said connections.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my v name to this specification this 11 day of July,

DAVID B. COGK.

differentially driven shafts, connections between said vshafts and wheels, respectively, for Vdriving 

